Review: My Not So Perfect Life

Published by: The Dial Press, an imprint of Random House Publishing Group, February 7, 2017

Length: 448 pages

Source: E galley via NetGalley with permission from publisher

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Summary:

Everywhere Katie Brenner looks, someone else is living the life she longs for, particularly her boss, Demeter Farlowe. Demeter is brilliant and creative, lives with her perfect family in a posh townhouse, and wears the coolest clothes. Katie’s life, meanwhile, is a daily struggle—from her dismal rental to her oddball flatmates to the tense office politics she’s trying to negotiate. The final, demeaning straw comes when Demeter makes Katie dye her roots in the office. No wonder Katie takes refuge in not-quite-true Instagram posts, especially as she’s desperate to make her dad proud.

Then, just as she’s finding her feet—not to mention a possible new romance—the worst happens. Demeter fires Katie. Shattered but determined to stay positive, Katie retreats to her family’s farm in Somerset to help them set up a vacation business. London has never seemed so far away—until Demeter unexpectedly turns up as a guest. Secrets are spilled and relationships rejiggered, and as the stakes for Katie’s future get higher, she must question her own assumptions about what makes for a truly meaningful life.

Sophie Kinsella is celebrated for her vibrant, relatable characters and her great storytelling gifts. Now she returns with all of the wit, warmth, and wisdom that are the hallmarks of her bestsellers to spin this fresh, modern story about presenting the perfect life when the reality is far from the image.

My Thoughts:

Katie Brenner is a character many of us can relate to. She worked so very hard to get to the pinnacle of where she sees her life happening, London. She finally has a paying job, though not as well paying as she’d like. She wants to fit in so much, she attempts to re-create herself, her accent, her hair, even her name, she become Cat. She’s struggling and just making enough money to survive, but she has a positive attitude, and she shares just enough of here life to make it look real. She posts happy, staged Instagram photos so her friends won’t know the truth. Katie even manages the awful boss, keeping a hopeful demeanor up when asked to do the most menial of tasks, even those not related to her job. When she meets a handsome, fun associate at work, she opens up to have a bit of fun with him, and thinks she feels a spark. Naturally as things are going well she’s fired in a rather awkward moment. Her boss once again seeming scatter brained and off kilter.

My Not So Perfect Life is a pure genius, escapism read. When we seem to be bombarded with political news and the negative daily, this book let me steal away time to just laugh! The reader is given a look inside a young woman’s life, her struggle to get ahead, her own fears and a few of her triumphs. Katie is sure there are others living perfect lives, her boss Demeter, her co-workers, her friend from Uni who is now living in NYC. When she of given the opportunity to see inside her boss’s life she sees so much insecurity and doubt. Its something we must always remember, about the grass not always being greener.

I’ve been a fan of Sophie Kinsella for a a long time, I read her Shopaholic series and many of her stand alone books also. Some are honestly slapstick hilarious! Her latest work will not disappoint. It was a very quick read, it just moves so nicely and I believe I was cheering for Katie each time she learned something new about herself, or as she got a little revenge on others. Highly recommend for a book to simply enjoy, to bring you laughter, and as I said, a reason to escape for a few hours into a story that is brilliantly constructed.